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‘Products’: 84 Posts

El Paso, Texas-based aftermarket parts manufacturer MSD Performance, which includes brands MSD Ignition, Atomic EFI, Racepak, Edge and Superchips, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

As stated in a press release that the company released earlier this month, excessive debt, driven by peak-market acquisitions under previous management, and a 2009 debt restructuring plan led to the bankruptcy filing. Though MSD Performance has taken steps to counter this (such as reducing operating costs and successfully launching new products), its management believes that the best way to ensure its competitiveness is via restructuring.

Company executives hope to keep the reorganization process as seamless as possible for its customers, employees and business partners, and is reportedly in dialogue with several potential buyers, according to the press release. Ultimately, the goal stated by Ron Turcotte, chairman and CEO, is to preserve as many of the company’s 450 jobs as possible, serve its customers in the best way possible and expedite the the bankruptcy process.

For the time being, MSD Performance plans on using its cash collateral to sustain ongoing operations, ensuring that employees will continued to be paid both salary and benefits and that customer orders are shipped without interruption. There are no plans to close facilities or lay off staff, and the company currently anticipates no changes to warranties or customer programs. Sponsorship and contingency payouts are also expected to continue throughout the process without interruption.

Only MSD Performance’s U.S. entities are impacted by this Chapter 11 filing, and the company’s press release stated that suppliers will be paid after the filing date, per the terms and agreements of existing supply contracts. Per MSD’s vice president of marketing and sales Manny Grijalva, suppliers have been supportive of the process to date, and current product inventory levels should ensure supply throughout the proceedings. If the filing proceeds as expected, Grijalva said that company management expects to emerge from bankruptcy at the end of 2013.

UPDATE (17.December 2013): A private equity firm, Z Capital, yesterday announced its purchase of MSD. According to a press release, the purchase was part of a bankruptcy auction and was approved in November. A purchase price was not announced.

We recently came across this ad for an aftermarket center headlamp for 1949 and 1950 Fords and thought it was relevant, given the discussion about center headlamps that turn in the recent Tatra post. A Detroit company called MESCO offered this example, but we’ve seen reference to a similar one from a New Haven, Connecticut, company called “the Swinging Eye,” also intended for 1949-1950 Fords. There’s still debate whether Tatra’s center headlamp actually turned with the wheels like the subsequent Tucker’s did, but plenty of aftermarket companies offered accessory headlamps that turned with the wheels in the 1930s, most often applied to luxury cars. We have to wonder whether any of these are still around and in use.

We’ve heard time and again from our readers that we should make available the photographs that grace the pages of our magazines, either as computer wallpaper or as art they can hang on their walls. After all, we put a lot of effort into finding the subjects of those photos and making them look good. So we took that advice and are now offering collector-quality prints of some of the best and most memorable images we’ve ever published. Not merely posters to thumbtack to your walls, these are printed on high-quality satin paper and are perfect for framing.

They come in two sizes, 24 inches by 36 inches and 16 inches by 20 inches, which sell for $34.99 and $26.99, respectively, including shipping and handling. We currently have 23 images to choose from, taken from the pages of all four of our magazines, with more to come. You can find them in our online store at Hemmings.com/prints.

There were no electric fans or high-capacity aftermarket radiators in 1933. Image courtesy of Flick user Doc Searls.

One advantage of the modern automobile is this: Its owner need not worry about summer driving with the air conditioner on, even in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Today’s cars are tested to extremes of both cold and heat, meaning the likelihood of the temperature gauge ever reaching critical mass isn’t very great. For those with classic cars and muscle cars, summer driving can occasionally be an exercise in paranoia, particularly if a smooth flow in traffic suddenly devolves into a sea of red brake lights.

There are many products on the market today that will lower engine temperatures (thus boosting performance) when the outside temperatures climb towards triple-digits. First and foremost, it’s critical to start with a healthy cooling system, as a new radiator will have little benefit if the engine block itself is saddled with clogged coolant passages. Assuming that the cooling system presents itself in good overall health, a radiator upgrade is one of the better ways to reduce underhood temperatures.

There are several paths to travel here, including an OEM one if your vehicle was not delivered with factory air conditioning. Cars with factory A/C generally have enhanced cooling system capacity, meaning that a swap to a radiator specified for A/C-equipped cars may be the simplest and least expensive solution to lower operating temperatures. Many aftermarket suppliers offer modern aluminum radiators with increased capacity to fit classic and muscle cars. While these will improve the cooling system, some may not be direct fits into older cars, and some may also require a change from traditional green (ethylene glycol) coolant to a more modern alternative to avoid negating the warranty, so be sure to read the fine print when considering a radiator upgrade.

Even radiator caps can make a difference, as the boiling point of water is raised by roughly three degrees Fahrenheit for each additional pound of pressure on the radiator cap. There’s a limit to the pressure a system can withstand without failing elsewhere, so installing a 16-pound cap on a cooling system originally designed for a 4-pound or a 7-pound cap probably isn’t a good idea. When in doubt, seek the advice of others with specific year, make and model experience. If your car was not originally equipped with a coolant recovery tank, adding one may help prevent coolant loss and air pockets in the cooling system, which can raise coolant temperatures and affect coolant circulation.

Changing the radiator fan can help flow more air across the radiator, and there are numerous options for upgrades here as well. Those looking to preserve the stock setup can add a flex fan, which changes the pitch of its blades with engine speed, drawing in more air at idle and less as RPMs rise and the car is, presumably, in motion. Most retain the factory radiator shroud, and can be easily installed by anyone with basic mechanical skills. Replacing the belt-driven fan (which robs a fractional amount of engine horsepower) with a thermostatically controlled electric-powered fan is another option, and such setups generally include a new radiator shroud. Regardless of fan type chosen, shrouds should be used wherever possible, as they serve to properly direct cooling air.

Another fan alternative is a thermostatically controlled electric pusher fan, which mounts to the front of the radiator and supplements the airflow provided by the existing radiator fan. Because these fans are triggered by a thermostat, they can help reduce under-hood temperatures even when the vehicle is parked (assuming, of course, that the motor is wired for power when the ignition is turned off).

Adding an oil cooler will also help to reduce operating temperatures. Most mount to the front of the radiator and use a thermostatic valve to circulate (and cool) oil only after it’s reached operating temperature. Oil coolers are particularly beneficial for tow vehicles, as well as any vehicle that’s driven on a race track with some regularity. Similar radiator-style coolers are also available for the transmission (again, a good idea for tow or track vehicles) and even the power steering.

One more trick to reduce underhood temperatures involves using exhaust wrap on headers and even exhaust components, excluding catalytic converters and mufflers. Wrapping the exhaust yields two primary benefits: first, less heat from exhaust components is dumped under the hood (or under the car), while wrapped, higher-temperature exhaust components lower the density of exhaust gasses, promoting a faster exit.

While plain distilled water has better heat transfer capabilities than a mixture of antifreeze and water, there are multiple reasons not to run pure water in a street car’s cooling system. Most antifreeze mixtures contain lubricants for the water pump, as well as corrosion inhibitors designed to prevent the buildup of scale in the cooling system, so running straight water eliminates these benefits. Those living in climates where early freezes are a possibility will want to avoid water as well, as neglecting to switch to a coolant mixture before temperatures drop can have disastrous consequences.

Finally, there are aftermarket coolant additives that promise to lower operating temperatures, but the jury is still out on their effectiveness. None will solve overheating problems on their own, as such issues are often far more complex than adding a small bottle of liquid to a cooling system. Though it may be more costly, in the long run it’s better to treat the underlying cause of a cooling problem instead of hoping for a miracle cure from a bottle.

Want more details on keeping your classic car cool? See Jim O’Clair and Craig Fitzgerald’s article “Beat the Heat” from the December 2005 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines. For more details on aftermarket aluminum radiators and the companies that supply them, see Jim O’Clair’s “Swap Meet” column from the October 2010 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines.

Saving an early Mustang fastback might be a bit easier now that Thoroughbred International has released its new 1965-1966 unit-body “skeletons” intended to replace the foundations of heavily rusted or otherwise damaged originals. Though new Mustang restoration body shells have come to market in recent years, this is the first effort to address the 1965-1966 fastback.

Nate Miller has spent years restoring classic Mustangs, many under the banner of his Canfield, Ohio-based Buckeye Restorations, and through those efforts saw the need to create a better approach to the restoration of heavily rusted or otherwise damaged cars. Thoroughbred International is the resulting venture dedicated to creating the new “skeletons,” a term used by the company to refer to the structural framework of the unit-body hull. From the outset, a primary goal was to create a unit-body platform that was as accurate in its dimensions as possible because Nate felt that the need for extensive reworking of a reproduction shell can consume as much time and effort as repairing an original. To that end, Thoroughbred said that Ford Motor Company’s own blueprint specifications were used as a guide.

To create the fixtures to build the new skeletons, Thoroughbred worked with Cardinal Precision Machining, a machining company that was able to use modern manufacturing CAD system software to design the fixtures and then use CNC machine equipment to create the mounting points. The sheetmetal stampings are set in the fixtures and assembled using large spot-welding rigs to replicate the original manufacturing techniques, yielding a final product that is said to maintain consistent dimensions within 1/16 of an inch of factory specs, a closer tolerance than Ford used on Mustang assembly lines. In terms of appearance, Thoroughbred says the skeletons are indistinguishable from originals. All assembly work is completed in the U.S., and as a final touch, the new skeletons are sprayed in red-oxide-style primer, just like Ford did in the 1960s.

The skeletons can be purchased as a complete unit-body structure or as what Thoroughbred calls a Clipster, which has nothing forward of the firewall to accommodate those planning to use aftermarket suspension clips. For those interested in a complete body shell, Thoroughbred works with Wild Horse Specialties to provide a unit with the roof skin, trunk panel, quarter panels and whatever other welded panels are required so that a customer can receive a shell requiring only bolt-on components for final assembly.

Pricing for the new assemblies begins with the Clipster at $8,500; the complete skeleton is set at $9,500, and further options for additional body panels are added from there, peaking at $14,990 for the completed shell, as of this writing. The new skeletons can be purchased through one of Thoroughbred’s dealers, a list that includes National Parts Depot. For more information, visit ThoroughbredGT.com.

Studebakers have been out of production for nearly 50 years, but that doesn’t mean restorers can’t find reproduction parts for their South Bend sweethearts. Floor pans, door skins, trunk floors, rocker panels and body mounts are easy enough to find for certain models, and Goodmark recently announced the production of replacement quarter panels for 1953-1961 Studebaker coupes.

Goodmark’s decision to reproduce these Studebaker-specific parts was made for the vintage parts supplier by its customers; Goodmark representative Tony Pascale reports that the company would receive as many as 15 requests per week from Studebaker owners looking for replacement sheetmetal.

Up until now, preformed patches for typical rust areas on fenders and rear quarters were available, but as anyone who’s ever restored a vehicle knows, rust doesn’t always appear where you expect it to.

Goodmark’s quarter panels are good news for Studebaker restorers, but other Studebaker body panels remain elusive. Per Bob Palma, Technical Editor of the Studebaker Driver’s Club Turning Wheels magazine, front fenders for Hawk-type bodies are challenging to find (though much in demand) and would be difficult to reproduce. New decklids for Lark-type models have been unavailable since 1966, leading some to speculate that the die used to stamp 1964-1966 decklids was damaged in production. By Palma’s reckoning, a good rear decklid for a 1964-1966 Studebaker can command as much as 10 times the price of a good front fender. Could these body panels represent future business opportunities for Goodmark? That would likely depend upon the complexity of manufacturing and the level of customer demand.

Pricing for the Goodmark quarter panels has yet to be announced. For more information, visit GoodmarkIndustries.com.

What happens to old cars that wind up in junkyards? Some of them get scavenged for parts to restore other cars; some that are too far gone get sent to the crusher. Those in between, at least in Spain, may now get a new lease on life with two wheels instead of four. Spanish design studio Lola Lowe Madrid has started Bicycled, a company producing new, handmade bicycles from old car parts. The frames are made from recycled metal and the seats upholstered from car interior materials, while the reflectors come from turn signals. The company claims to be making the drive belt out of old transmission belts, but some people have pointed out that this would make for a lousy-riding bike. We’ll see…

* So it might be a little late to order one of the Autosport Designs Originals scaled-down electric Porsches for your own Li’l Bastard this gift-giving season. There’s always birthdays.

* The garage calendar is one of those unspoken gearhead traditions. The hallmark of the man’s space. One of the few areas of the garage that gets good light. A little risque. In that tradition, the guys at Autocult put together their first calendar for 2013.

* Not exactly a barn find, but close enough: A German man who had always wanted a BMW M1 stumbled across one for sale and in his price range in a storage facility, eventually finding out that it was one of the M1s that March entered in the 1980 Le Mans. AutoMinded pointed out the story from Der Spiegel.

* Philip Powell this week reflected on the world’s longest rally and the only FIA-sanctioned rally in North America, the Trans Canada Rally of 1961-1968, also known as the Shell 4000 Rally.

* We’ve mentioned Joan Cuneo here several times already, and now we see that Elsa Nystrom will be coming out with a book on Cuneo, a preview of which recently ran on The Old Motor.

* Finally, yet another designer who mines car culture for couture and tries to sell it back to us for obscene amounts of money. This time it’s Dustin Page at Platinum Dirt with the VIN Jackets, made from junkyard-sourced leather and other car components. Starting at $1,690. (via and via)

With the turn of the calendar to December, the holidays are suddenly upon us, with all the attendant shopping mall roulettes, big-screen TVs, and extended family get-togethers. But it’s not all bad – Stefan Marjoram has decided to reprise his Auto Art Advent series this year, with a new piece of automotive-themed art every day of the month until Christmas. As he noted on his blog, this year he’s going to try out different techniques and materials throughout the month, so stay tuned.